Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody explained

Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody
Cover:	Rock-A-Bye Baby record by Al Jolson.jpg
Caption:	78rpm record label
Type:	single
Artist:	Al Jolson
Released:	August 1918
B-Side:	"Alice, I'm in Wonderland (Since the Day That I First Met You)" (Sterling Trio)
Genre:	Popular
Label:	Columbia 2560
Prev Title:	Hello Central, Give Me No Man's Land
Prev Year:	1918
Next Title:	Tell That to the Marines
Next Year:	1919

"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" is a popular song written by Jean Schwartz, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. The song was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway musical Sinbad and published in 1918.

Probably the best-known version of the song was by Al Jolson who recorded it on March 13, 1918^[1] and whose version reached No. 1 the same year.^[2]

Other recordings

• Al Jolson recorded the song on December 20, 1932, with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians.^[3] Jolson recorded the song again on March 27, 1946, with an orchestra under the direction of Morris Stoloff.^[4]
• Arthur Fields - considered to be a No. 9 hit in 1918.^[5]
• Dean Martin recorded the song on April 28, 1950.^[6]
• Judy Garland included the song in her album Miss Show Business (1955) and her 1960 recording appeared in the compilation album The London Sessions.^[7] The song was also included in her live album Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961).
• Jerry Lewis - his version was a Top 10 hit in 1956^[8] and became a gold record
• Aretha Franklin also recorded a version of this song for her album The Electrifying Aretha Franklin, which reached No. 24 in Cash Box and #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961.^[9]

Film appearances

• A Plantation Act (1926) - sung by Al Jolson^[10]
• The Show of Shows (1929) - sung by Sid Silvers^[11]
• The Singing Kid (1936) - sung by Al Jolson in the opening medley^[12]
• Rose of Washington Square (1939) - performed by Al Jolson^{[13] [14]}
• The Merry Monahans (1944) - sung by Donald O'Connor^[15]
• Terms of Endearment (1983) - Judy Garland version heard^[16]

Notes and References

1. Book: Goldman. Herbert G.. Jolson: The Legend Comes to Life. 1988. Oxford University Press. New York. 0-19-506329-5. 379.
2. http://musicvf.com/song.php?id=106450&artist=Al+Jolson&title=Rock-a-Bye+Your+Baby+with+a+Dixie+Melody Al Jolson, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" Chart Position
3. Book: Whitburn. Joel. Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. 1986. Record Research Inc. Wisconsin, USA. 0-89820-083-0. 388.
4. Book: Whitburn. Joel. Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. 1986. Record Research Inc. Wisconsin, USA. 0-89820-083-0. 389.
5. Book: Whitburn. Joel. Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. 1986. Record Research Inc. Wisconsin, USA. 0-89820-083-0. 155.
6. Book: Tosches. Nick. Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams. 1992. Dell Publishing. New York. 0-440-21412-2. 581.
7. Web site: allmusic.com. allmusic.com. May 20, 2017.
8. Book: Whitburn. Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 2004. Billboard Books. New York. 0-8230-7499-4. 367. 8th.
9. http://musicvf.com/song.php?id=2814&artist=Aretha+Franklin&title=Rock-A-Bye+Your+Baby+with+a+Dixie+Melody Aretha Franklin, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" Chart Position
10. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:A_Plantation_Act Copies on Wikimedia
11. Web site: Internet Movie Database. imdb.com. May 20, 2017.
12. Web site: Internet Movie Database. imdb.com. May 20, 2017.
13. Web site: Internet Movie Database. imdb.com. May 20, 2017.
14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZphUd8iJAI&index=9&list=PLBohJ-Mq5mXziu3MJZ-E_WDxC7OrBCGvc Al Jolson singing "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody"
15. Web site: Internet Movie Database. imdb.com. May 20, 2017.
16. Web site: Internet Movie Database. imdb.com. May 20, 2017.